Marleine Bastien, Prominent Haitian Activist and passionate speaker got under the Vile Natacha Seijas' skin at last night's budget meeting, according to a Miami Herald article, this was the exchange:''I'm sick and tired of coming and standing up here every year for you to help us -- you do not,'' said Marleine Bastien, director of the Haitian Women of Miami. ``You prefer to play politics, using our tax dollars to pay your political cronies, people who do your elections, using our tax dollars as payback.''
That prompted a stern response from Commissioner Natacha Seijas, who said she has supported Bastien and ``voted for things that had to do with the Haitians.''
''I don't have cronies,'' Seijas said. ``I don't have people I pay back.''
An angry exchange followed, in English and Spanish:
Bastien: ``Who that has feet, let them wear them.''
Seijas: ``I don't have feet and I don't wear it . . . You need to stop insulting us, or at least me.''
Of course you don't have feet vile Natacha. Your feet are in the pockets of your developer friends with the rest of you. Isn't it amazing that EVERYONE, who is on the right side of ANY issue, fights with Natacha? Thanks Marleine for standing up to the battle-axe and for speaking the truth.
21 comments:
Marleine is fantastic. She doesn't fit in the Latin Builders/Seijas world view though, and that's why they beat up on her. She's defending Rolle, one of their own.
defending Rolle??????????? how could she defend Rolle? Need more info.
I wish Marleine Bastien would spend her time teaching Haitians to stop dumping garbage throughout Dist 5. Too many Haitians hate paying for garbage service. They just drive around looking for a quiet street and dump their trash out the back of a car or truck. Who do you thinks pay to clean up their trash? Right, the law abiding taxpayers. Maybe if the Haitians did not dump so much there would be more money for housing.
As someone who has spent part of their career investigating illegal dumping (including of stuff a lot nastier than garbage), let me tell you that it is done by people of every color, ethnic and economic stripe - like every other type of crime. To single out Haitians is simply ignorant and to link it to the lack of affordable housing is ridiculous. - As for Natacha's feet...they are made of clay. Bob Marley said it better than Marleine when he said "Who da cap fit, let dem wear it."
I have to agree with the comments earlier. Haitians do dump garbage illegally and the used clothing warehouses are the worst. Rather then pay for waste pick ups legally they dump their excess garbage on quiet streets.
This article was not about dumping garbage. Come on people, what are you doing? What are you saying? Why are you lumping everyone into one pile?
This thread was about a Haitian complaining Americans were not giving enough money to Haitians. Well, perhaps when every American is housed, fed and has a job we can worry about Haitians.
Perhaps Haitians could be in Haiti fixing Haiti?
To be an American:
You've gotta have heart
All you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin' you'll never win
That's when the grin should start
You've gotta have hope
Mustn't sit around and mope
Nothin's half as bad as it may appear
Wait'll next year and hope
When your luck is battin' zero
Get your chin up off the floor
Mister you can be a hero
You can open any door, there's nothin' to it but to do it
You've gotta have heart
Miles 'n miles n' miles of heart
Oh, it's fine to be a genius of course
But keep that old horse
Before the cart
First you've gotta have heart
Gee, I am disappointed in readers responses on this. I really am. We are all Americans, drive around the rest of the county some time and see how the less fortunate are living and you will see why there is complainiing --- and many many Haitian Americans are Americans citizens. I don't take kindly to the thread.
Genius, I agree with you, isn't that reader reaction sad? South Florida, while a melting pot, is not a melting pot of cultures that meld into one loving pot of community.
The Haitians live together, vote together, work hard and are discriminated against. Why? All immigrant groups have pretty much done the same throughout the history of the U.S. Every group in different regions of the U.S. Italians, Irish, Jewish, Catholics/Prodestants, Cubans... the list goes on and on. I venture to guess that each and every writer in this blog is an immigrant OR children of immigrants OR grandchildren of immigrants. So why point the finger? Isn't it the same to you as saying these things about your own ancestors?
Why can't we aim to be less racist? and label people less? I live in a Haitian community, (though I'm not Haitian)in NM and I have lovely neighbors who work hard and incidentally, who leave their trash out every Monday and Thursday for the garbage truck.
it's the sweeping generalizations that OFFEND.
However, She did yell way too much at the commission meeting but she's frustrated. Yelling isn't a way to get your point across though. She sees how much other communities get in this town and it's frustrating for her I imagine.
Don't point the finger and make sweeping generalizations and labels, try to put yourself in others shoes.
Geez.
"She (Marliene Bastien) sees how much other communities get in this town..." You prove the point. All Marlien Bastien wants is to get stuff. Marlien wants free money for Haitians, she wants free housing for Haitians, she wants free food for Haitians... What does she want to contribute? What does she want the Haitians to contribute? Right. Nothing. She has this angry sense of entitlement. She was mad at the Commissioners because they were not going to give her a blank check. Gosh.
Perhaps she could ask the President of Haiti for free housing for Haitians?
false sense: I have one thing to say to you: ICK
to false sense:
don't forget the Haitian community are hard working folks, they are an employed community for the most part... employed and ...are consumers.
so... what they are contributing?
wait for it...
wait for it...
TAX DOLLARS.
that should be rededicated back to the community equally. And we can all agree that it isn't.
I have never seen/read a set of comments so "off the mark"...in this blog. Marleine made a plea for the poor and the hard working Haitians. The same who cook the food that you eat in the fancy Beach, Aventura and Gables restaurants who clean the hotel rooms that fuel our tourist economy. That provide security in nearly every public and private venue in this community.
Maybe you Mo's who are concerned about dumping, didn't read how the county has handled the affordable housing issue, how poor healthcare is in this town. Remember you "Mo's" most of the above jobs don't have healthcare/medical benefits coverage.
What the county doesn't do Marleine does. She helps them find housing....if your county commission had dealt with the housing problems of the community Marleine would not be asking for help....it's not free housing just affordable housing that these people want!
I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S PURE UNADULTERATED RACISM OR JUST PLAIN OLD IGNORANCE AND SELFISHNESS
I'm always yours
Bigfoot
I am new to this blog but it appears that many of you do not know that over the past ten years Haitians have been leaving Miami. Haitians obviously do not like Miami as evidenced by their picking up their belongings and leaving. They have moved to N. Miami and Kendall and to Broward County and to many other areas. Case in point it appears even Ms Bastien lives in N. Miami.
The point is some people have more information than others.
Her speech was rerun on cable TV. She was mad rich taxpayers were not giving her a building which would house mostly illegal immigrants. And she wanted to put it in a slum. Duh.
Taxpayers get a choice: more police officers on the street vs a building they will never see. Duh.
Ah...illegal dumping. One of my favorite topics. Do you know where much of the illegal dumping occurs? At the local Dade County run dump stations, with the County pretty much turning a blind eye to the practice.
People from other cities(that don't pay the County annual garbage assessment)like S. Miami, Coral Gables etc. and contractors(who slip the employees a few dollars),and landscapers who have taken their business signs off their trucks because they don't want to pay the $25.00 fee that they are now supposed to be charged. There are more people dumping illegally now than there are legal. The County and your Commission created the problem, but it's too long to explain here.
On recycling. Do you know that the County has signed three contracts for millions to provide each household with a 64 gallon container for recycling...and to buy the new trucks to do the job...and to pay the people to separate the stuff. Funny thing is...ONLY the Aluminum and steel are actually recycled. All the other stuff, after it's sorted OUT of the steel and Aluminum, is burned to produce electricity for about 40,000? homes. So...it seems to me that a more cost effective approach would be to leave the two bins and ask people to only put the Aluminum in one and the steel in the other and put all the rest in the regular garbage can, since it will all be burned anyway. Already sorted. No additional expense.DUH!
Waste is a very profitable business that has to be protected by our "representatives".
Haitians often do not bother taking trash to the dump stations. They just drive to a quiet street and dump their trash there.
stop picking on Haitians and Bastien. i am getting to the point of puking...because you are making me sick. teach people our culture....
OK, now I'm gonna give you the names of some of the people/cities that were involved in illegal dumping for the better part of 10 years. My estimate (conservative)is that it cost County tax payers at least 7 million dollars. None of the names I have were Haitian...
School Board Commissioner Greer's husband.
All the trash collected from the easements of the whole cities of Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay.
The properties of the Finley Matheson Trust(80 acres)
Jorge Perez-the Related Group developer
Do I need to go on? Or do you get the picture? The favored few get special service. But when it comes time to catch and fine/imprison someone, I can assure you it won't be some well connected big wig, it'll be some poor slob and the Herald, the Inspector General's Office, State Attorney's Office, etc ad nauseum...will trot these people out to show us what a good job they are doing against corruption with a couple of thousand dollars being stolen, while ignoring the big stuff if it would "hurt" people they "like".
Genius of despair, thank you for your educated comments. I am also very surprised by some comments.
The post was about finally someone standing up against N. Seijas and the other Commissioners. Does this writers think that the many problems our community have now (housing, traffic, corruption, airport, etc) are created by the Haitian and Haitian-Americans living in Miami?
This is exactly why Seijas and others are reelected constantly. Sad for all of us.
Regards.
FD @ Condo Hotel Miami Beach - Condo Hotel Fort Lauderdale
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